Fagus sylvatica (copper beech)

The arrangement of leaves is such that they overlap, which, while efficient for the tree, shades the ground beneath and can also prevent rain from reaching it. So if the floor of the English wood you're walking through comprises little more than fungi and rotting leaves, it's probably a beech wood.

Copper beech trees are quite variable in leaf colour as they are normally propagated by seed. Particularly dark clones have been selected over the years and those are grafted to maintain the true colour. The best-known are 'Cuprea', 'Nigra', 'Riversii' and 'Spaethiana'.

Beech tends not to be used for building as it decays quickly without protection and is not strong enough to bear any great weight.

In addition to the utility of its timber, beech also provides nourishment for wildlife in the form of nuts, also known as beech mast. A bumper crop of these nuts is produced every four to five years when badgers, squirrels and many birds feast on them. Although edible they are rarely eaten by humans. Very young leaves are also edible.

At Kew, beeches are propagated by grafting in order to retain genetic material from important old trees in the gardens, or to grow cultivars such as copper beeches. Root stocks for grafting are grown in the Arboretum Nursery by sowing seed. The seed is not viable for long and so needs to be sown as soon as it is ripe. If sown in the autumn it will germinate the following spring. The seed is either sown directly into the nursery field (with wire mesh protection from mice and squirrels) or into 12-litre pots, kept frost-free under glass, with plenty of natural light. Tony Hall, who manages this collection, says that when the seedlings emerge they look like miniature forests, but that this is the ideal way to create root stock material.

Grafting is done in January with the unions warmed by a hot pipe system. The pipe temperature is kept at around 21 ˚C whilst the rootstock below is kept cooler at around 5 to 10 ˚C. The buds are sprayed once a day to keep them moist. Using this method it takes about two to three weeks for the union to form a callus. After this the new plants are grown on in their pots for a season, and then transplanted into the nursery field for growing on.

Although rarely used, cuttings from newly emerged shoots can be easily rooted under mist.

Mature trees generally do well in the Gardens as they like Kew’s sandy soil. However, beeches benefit from summer rainfall and like moisture and high humidity, so in recent years they have been showing signs of stress.